


Back to Your Heart

by sorato_fan



Category: Digimon Adventure
Genre: Angst, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Romance, Sex, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:20:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorato_fan/pseuds/sorato_fan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamato spent a year in the space. A lot has changed since he left, even his wife's feelings. Now he has to adjust to real life as he finds his way back into Sora and their children's lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Home

Yamato made his way up to his apartment. He had been away for almost a year with another trip to the space. It felt good to be home after so long. He couldn’t help but sigh. He knew what was about to happen soon. His wife was getting tired of his long trips, as she was constantly complaining about him not spending time with spending time with his family and that the kids were growing up and he was missing all of it. He understood where she was coming from, he really did. But he just wished she was a little bit more understanding as well, like she always was when they were just friends. He tried to shake this thought of his head but it didn’t take him much effort because, as soon as he walked into the hall that led to his apartment and saw the ‘The Ishidas’ sign with their digimons on it, hanging on the door, a smile formed on his face. He then knew everything would be okay. The blonde reached for the door knob and twisted it open. He walked in and closed the door behind him carefully.  
  
Aiko, his eight year old girl, was lying in the couch as she flipped through the channels. Without getting up, she said. “Mom?”  
“No.” Yamato said calmly.  
The girl stood still in her position as she tried to take the big surprise in. Then she turned the TV off and walked to the kitchen. Her eyes widened and she screamed as loud as she could.  
“Daddy!” She jumped on Yamato’s arms and he almost fell back. “I’ve missed you so much!”  
“I missed you too.”  
“How was your trip?”  
“It was quite good, thanks.”  
“You know, a couple of days ago we saw a report on the TV about you coming back. That’s when mom found out.”  
Yamato frowned. He knew his wife didn’t really like when he didn’t tell her he was coming home. He tried to push that away.  
“Where’s your brother?”  
Aiko seemed to think for some minutes and then side stepped to look towards the hall.  
“He’s right behind you now.”  
Yamato turned around to see his youngest kid, Kouji, looking intently at him. He was holding his sleep blanket, a habit – Yamato thought to himself – his wife didn’t really mind. He knelt down in front of Kouji and stretched his arms out. The kid didn’t move at first but then he ran into his father’s arms.  
“How are you, kid? Dad missed you!”  
The child didn’t say anything. Yamato picked him up and turned to his daughter.  
“Aiko, where’s your mother?”  
The girl shrugged. “She should have been here by now. She told me she was going to the supermarket only. She must have met uncle Taichi on the way. You know how much he loves to talk.”  
Aiko rolled her eyes. Yamato had a serious look on his face. He would have to have a long conversation with his wife. He sighed. That was so not the reception he was expecting. But then again, when was it ever? The woman he married to turned into someone completely different than the girl he fell in love with when he was fourteen.  
“Dad, are you okay?”  
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine, Aiko.” He put Kouji down. “I’m just tired. I’m going to take a shower.”  
“Alright. I’ll just tell mom you’re here when she gets back.”  
Yamato looked at his daughter. She was exactly like his wife, except she had inherited his blonde hair. She also had a Gabumon as her digimon, since all the Digidestined’s kids got a digimon too. The astronaut smiled and then headed to his bedroom.  
  
Taichi was taking Sora to her apartment. They bumped into each other while she was buying some stuff to cook for dinner. Since she was with her newborn twins, he decided to help her.  
“Isn’t Akiko gonna be angry at you?” Sora inquired one more time.  
Taichi sighed. “Well, yeah. But you needed my help, so…”  
“Don’t be so high on yourself.”  
The two of them did their usual friendly bickering and became serious again. Taichi wanted to ask her the question that was eager to come out but he wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate. He decided to ask it anyway.  
“So Sora, is Yamato coming back soon?”  
The woman sighed. “Yeah. He is. I don’t know how soon that will be though.”  
She paused. Taichi looked at her and for a moment he thought she would burst into tears. She took a deep breath before continuing.  
“I know you think that I should be more understanding about this situation but I don’t know what to do, Taichi. I feel powerless. It’s like everything I say goes into one ear and out in the other.”  
“Well, Sora, you need to know this isn’t easy for Yamato. He’s doing the best he can. He could easily be away for years like some astronauts do. But he doesn’t, because he knows his family is just as important as his job. He’s doing something he loves. You know he’s the kind of guy who loves to explore. And since he knew almost all countries, he felt like it was time to take a higher step.” He sighed. “You know, I don’t really know which side I should be on, since both of you are my best friends. I just really, really hate to see you going through this because _I_ feel powerless. You guys love each other! It shouldn’t be this hard, right?”  
Sora looked down. “Right.”  
“Koushiro and I were talking about it a few days ago.”  
The red haired girl lifted her head and looked at her friend, visibly surprised. “You were?”  
“Yeah. We were talking about how it was unfair your marriage with Yamato became like this. You guys were so in love a few years ago. It’s a shame this happened.”  
Sora couldn’t help but smile. She, Yamato, Taichi and Koushiro have always been really close. Of course all the Digidestined were still close to this day but they had shared a really special bond since they met at the camp, nineteen years ago.  
“Well, I appreciate you and Koushiro thought about me and Yamato and I’m sorry that you are somewhat affected by what’s happening. You know I would stop it if I could. I hate seeing people around me upset.”  
“Well there’s something you can do.”  
“What is it?”  
“Talk to Yamato, Sora. If you don’t, you won’t be able to save your marriage. Is that what you want?”  
The woman looked down at her twins. “No. That’s not what I want.”  
“I’m sure Yamato doesn’t want it either.”  
“But I don’t think it’s worth it at this point.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, I don’t think love itself will be able to fix this marriage anymore.”  
“The bearer of Love is doubting its power? What happened?”  
She shrugged. “I grew up, I guess.”  
“Sora, listen to me.” Taichi placed a hand on her shoulder. “If anyone can do anything to fix any relationship, as messy as it could possible be, it’s you. I know you can do it. Mimi and Koushiro know it as well. But you need to believe _you_ can do it.”  
“Taichi.”  
“I just don’t want my best friends feeling miserable, you know? Takeru is already worried about Yamato and I don’t blame him. None of us can do anything to fix your marriage, only you and Yamato can.”  
“I didn’t know… that my pain was affecting all of you.”  
“Sora, we love you. You’re sweet, kind, honest, beautiful. But above all, you’re strong. I believe you can do anything you want to. If you and Yamato decide it’s useless to keep this marriage, we’ll be here to support you, always. But all we ask – and I’m speaking on behalf of all the Digidestined – is that you don’t give up before trying to save your relationship.”  
The woman was about to reply but Taichi’s phone started ringing. He reached into his pocket and grabbed it.  
“What do you want?”  
Sora rolled her eyes and smiled. There was only one person Taichi would talk to like this. She could hear the woman’s voice starting to get loud. Taichi moved the phone away from his ear a little.  
“Stop yelling, Hikari! I’m not deaf. I was just talking to Sora.”  
“Oh.” Hikari’s voice lowered down. “How is she doing?”  
“The same I guess.”  
“You guess?” She sighed. “Well, we’re just waiting for you so we can go out. And don’t take too long. We’re already running late as it is.”  
Taichi took a deep breath. “Okay, I won’t.”  
“Tell Sora I said hi.”  
“Will do. Bye.”  
“Hikari?” Sora asked, though she already knew the answer.  
“Yeah. We are going out to celebrate our parents’ fiftieth anniversary.”  
“Well, congratulate them for me.”  
“I will.” He turned to face her. “Now promise me you and Yamato will talk.”  
“It’s not like we have much of a choice, considering that you put a major pressure on me.” She smiled.  
“I’m serious, Sora. If the rest of us can make our marriages last, I sure as hell know you can do it either.”  
“Thanks, Taichi.” The red haired girl took his hands into hers. “For having faith in me when all hope seemed to be gone.”  
“You don’t need to thank me. That’s what friends are for.”  
“Sometimes I wish we never grew up. Everything seems so much easier when we are just kids.”  
“You’re right. But if we didn’t grow up we wouldn’t be where we are now.” He slapped his forehead. “Oh my god! I didn’t mean to…”  
“It’s okay, Taichi. I know what you meant. I’m really glad you and Akiko got married. You changed a lot since then.”  
“Yeah. I guess so. I’m really sorry, Sora. I have to go now. Hikari said they are all waiting for me so I need to hurry up.”  
“It’s okay. I won’t hold you up, Ambassador.”  
They smiled at each other and hugged goodbye. Sora watched as Taichi ran to his house.  
“He’s really changed, isn’t he?” Piyomon asked.  
Sora looked down at her digimon, surprised. “How long have you been here?”  
“Since you guys stopped here.”  
“You left Aiko and Kouji alone, Piyomon?”  
“They’re not alone.”  
“What?”  
“They have their digimons with them.” Piyomon lied.  
“Oh right.” The woman opened the gate. “You made sure no one saw you flying off, didn’t you?”  
Sora looked down at Piyomon again and freaked out when she blushed. “Piyomon!”  
“I’m sorry. But you are making people look at us.”  
Sora’s eyes widened and she hurried inside.  
  
After taking more than an hour to get ready, Taichi finally arrived at his parents’ house. Hikari was beyond fed up with him.  
“What the hell happened?” She asked, furious.  
“It wasn’t me, Hikari.” He tried to come up with an excuse. “It was Takato who took a while to get ready.”  
“What?”  
“Stop lying, Taichi.” Akiko meddled in. “Don’t blame our son when you were the responsible. We’d been ready for hours.”  
Taichi couldn’t help but sigh. There was no way he could win this.  
“Should we get going?”  
“Yeah. Though I don’t know if we’ll get our reservation now.” Hikari sighed.  
“Hikari, is your husband not coming?”  
“Fiancé, mom. And he’s working late tonight. It’s just me and Yamazaki.”  
“Your fiancé is always working late, isn’t he, little sister?”  
“Well, I guess that’s what being a doctor means. And stop calling me little. I’m twenty-six.”  
“Whatever.”  
“Anyway, he became really close to Jyou. Well, his father is a friend of Jyou’s father so he’s known Jyou since his childhood but they were never that close.”  
“Oh. That’s really cool, Hikari.”  
“Yeah, it is. Because of that, Jyou and I also became close. I mean, not that we never were, but you get me. Anyway, how is Sora, Taichi?”  
“She’s hanging in there. I bumped into her while she was food shopping with Ayumi and Masanori.”  
“Aww, they must be so cute!”  
“How old are they?” Mrs. Kamiya asked.  
“I think around three months or so. Yamato is gonna be so surprised when he finds out, I’m sure.”  
“He doesn’t know?”  
“Well, no. Sora found out she was pregnant when he had already left for another mission.”  
“That must have been so hard for her. Going through a pregnancy without him around.”  
“Yeah, I guess so. But she’s used to it, I think.”  
“I’m sure she did great though. She was raised really well. Though she and her mother didn’t always get along, Sora looked up to her a lot.”  
“Yeah, she became an amazing woman. I’m sure Aiko looks up to her as well.”  
“When is Yamato coming home, brother?”  
“Eh… I have no idea. Even Sora doesn’t know. Apparently he comes back without telling her.”  
“Really? I didn’t know their marriage was like that.” Mrs. Kamiya said.  
“Well, it wasn’t. The truth is, none of us know exactly what happened, mom. I mean, she did tell us what happened but it seemed to me that she was hiding something.”  
Hikari nodded in agreement. Mrs. Kamiya looked visibly surprised.  
“Really? Well I hope they work things out.”  
“That’s what we all hope, mom.” Hikari finally said. Then she looked at her watch. “Well, the reservation is pretty much gone. I worked so hard to get it.”  
“I’m sorry, Hikari.”  
A huge grin rose on Taichi’s face. “Who wants pizza?”  
  
Mimi was making her way home. She had a busy day as usual. Being an assistant to a cook wasn’t exactly her dream job but she knew really well that she’d have to work hard if she wanted to achieve her dreams.  
“What are you smiling at?” Palmon asked her curiously.  
“I was just thinking we could stop by the research institute and see Koushiro. What do you think?”  
“I think it’s a great idea, Mimi! We haven’t seen Koushiro and Tentomon for a long time.”  
“Yeah. You’re right.”  
“Doesn’t Sora’s dad work with him?”  
“He does. And Jyou’s brother too. I haven’t talked to Sora for a while. I feel like such a bad friend. Remind me to call her later, Palmon.”  
“Sure.”  
The two of them made their way inside the institute, hoping that Izzy hadn’t gone home.  
“Koushiro!” Mimi called excitedly as she walked into his office.  
His heart stopped beating for a moment. “Mimi… what are you doing here?”  
“I came here to see you. We haven’t seen each other for quite a while so I thought I’d stop by since I was on my way home and this is the shortest way.”  
Koushiro gave a warm smile to his friend and collected his stuff. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his briefcase.  
“Do you want to go eat or drink something?”  
“Sure, I’d love to.” She happily agreed.  
  
Sora was waiting for the elevator to come. The happiness that was shown on her face moments before was replaced by sadness.  
“Sora?” Piyomon tried to get her partner’s attention. “What’s going on?”  
“What?” She shook her head. “Nothing.”  
“You are thinking about Yamato, aren’t you?”  
Sora went a little red. “Yeah. I’m just thinking about what to do when he comes back.”  
“Sora.”  
“Piyomon, do you think I’m a bad person? Do you think I’m overreacting?”  
“You’re not a bad person, Sora. But I do think you overreacted a little. It’s a complicated situation but I think both of you are doing the best you can.”  
Sora sighed. “It’s so frustrating, you know? Like, I do see where he’s coming from but being away for so long was the last thing I expected him to do. I guess I’m just upset because my father was always away and I didn’t want my children to experience such pain.”  
“Sora, you’ll have to tell Yamato how you feel. He deserves to know.”  
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Piyomon.”  
“I love you too, Sora.”  
The digimon and her partner walked out of elevator and headed towards their apartment. Sora opened the door and walked in.  
“Aiko, Kouji, mom is home.”  
The girl was watching TV because of the loud laugh she gave and the noise coming from it. Piyomon quickly went to check on Kouji to see if he was sleeping again. Sora placed the twin’s trolley in the living room and went to open the fridge and started to put the food away. She quickly glanced at the door but the not so usual pair of shoes went unnoticeable to her. She turned her attention to what she was doing and walked over to the sink to put the bags on a drawer. It was when the red haired woman stood up on her feet that she felt someone behind her and a hand being placed around her waist. Her legs lost their balance and her heart stopped beating as the realization of who it was hit her. She slowly turned around and her cinnamon eyes met his baby blue ones.  
“Yamato.”


	2. The Good and Bad of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks in italic.

Sora was taken aback with Yamato’s sudden return. She wasn’t sure of what to feel or think. His hand remained on her waist and he was looking intently into her cinnamon eyes.  
“Why are you back so suddenly?” She finally asked, releasing herself from his touch.  
Yamato sighed in exasperation. “Our trip was due today.”  
“Oh. The reporter on TV wasn’t sure of when it would be.” Sora added a bit of irony to her last sentence.  
The blond man took a deep breath before he unintentionally snapped at her. He knew he had to make up for that.  
“I’m sorry, Sora. I know I should have called and let you know I was coming back. I just… I just wanted to make a surprise to you and the kids. I missed you.”  
He came closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. Sora had her face against his chest, near his shoulder. The perfume coming from him was starting to arouse her. He would always wear it when he wanted to get her to do something – sexually wise – and it always worked. The woman’s mind started to drift off to a dream. She looked into his piercing blue eyes and instantly closed her own ones as she threw herself into him further. Yamato embraced her tighter and laid his head on her shoulder. They stood like this for several minutes. Sora knew that being so intimate right away wouldn’t do any good to their marriage until they talked about what it has turned into – and Yamato knew it as well – but she felt so safe in his arms. Well, his presence itself made her feel safe. She hadn’t felt this safety since he left for his mission. The thirty year woman slowly lifted her arms and wrapped them around her husband’s neck. Yamato smiled against her shoulder as he felt her arms touching his neck. His plan was working. He knew fairly well that Sora couldn’t stay mad at him for a long time. It wasn’t like her at all.  
“I’ve missed you too.” The bearer of Love finally replied. “You have no idea how hard this past year was for me.”  
She lifted her head and he did the same. Their eyes met halfway. They held such intensity yet it was hard to look away. Yamato cupped her face with his white hands.  
“I have no doubt it was.” He said softly.  
Sora looked away from his eyes to his mouth. She slowly caressed his cheeks with the back of her hand and then traced the contour of his mouth with her finger. Yamato then grabbed her hand and kissed it. Sora felt her body tremble. She gave him a small smile.  
“Wow, a smile?” He playfully said.  
“I’m glad you’re back, Yamato.” Her smile grew wider. “Now are you gonna do what you want to or do I have to do it myself?”  
He couldn’t help but laugh. His wife knew how to go straight to the point sometimes. Their eyes met once more and they closed as they leaned in towards each other. Yamato wrapped his arms around Sora as he captured her lips in a kiss. Sora threw hers around his neck just as the kiss became more passionate and deeper. They broke away after some minutes, and only because they were both breathless.  
“I have to cook dinner.” Sora looked away, slightly embarrassed.  
“You cook now?”  
“Well, I’m not as good as Mimi but I had to learn. She and my mom taught me.”  
“Oh.”  
“Don’t sound so surprised.” She smiled. “They have been supporting me a lot in the past year. Taichi and Koushiro as well.”  
Yamato raised an eyebrow. “What about Takeru?”  
Sora shrugged as she looked at him. “He became famous.”  
  
  
Koushiro and Mimi were sitting at a table inside McDonald’s as they thought of what they were going to order.  
“So is this your ideal first date?” Mimi asked.  
The red haired man lifted his head and put a hand behind it, visibly ashamed.  
“No, not really. But I don’t have enough money right now and this is the cheapest place in Odaiba.”  
Mimi laughed. “That’s alright. I hope you didn’t take offense of this.”  
“No, I didn’t. No worries.” He smiled at her. “So… you’ve been back for a couple of years but I never got around to ask why you came back. I mean, you’d have a bigger opportunity if you still lived in US.”  
Mimi looked intently at him and for a moment he thought she felt offended by what he said. She took a deep breath and put the menu aside.  
“Well, yeah. I was offered a really good job in US.”  
“What happened?”  
“I had to turn it down.”  
“Why, Mimi?” Koushiro was getting intrigued.  
“I started feeling like I didn’t belong there anymore, you know?”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“It’s okay, really. And then I realized that I didn’t have my friends anywhere near me to celebrate with me this opportunity. I do have great friends in New York and they’ll always be with me but they are nothing like the seven friends I made for being a Digidestined.”  
Koushiro was really surprised with Mimi’s explanation. The shallow and spoiled member of the Digidestined had turned into a great woman. She was prettier as well, he couldn’t help but notice it. She had dyed her hair brown again but it was shorter than it used to be. He shook his head, trying to get such thoughts of his mind as he tried to tell himself that they couldn’t be more than friends.  
“It’s great to have you back, Mimi.”  
The woman smiled. “I know you have trouble with words, Koushiro. So I’ll take what I can get.”  
“I’m sorry.” He said, feeling ashamed. “But you understand me.”  
“Of course I do. So I knew I’d have to pretty much start over here but all I could think was being near my friends.”  
“And your parents were okay with it?”  
“Not at first but they had to be. I wasn’t a child anymore and they had to accept my own decisions. It wasn’t easy leaving them though.”  
“I bet.”  
“Anyway, enough about me. How’s your life going?”  
“Good. Work is pretty much taking all spare time I have.”  
“Really? Is it so hard?”  
“No. It’s just… everyone got married and had kids so we sorta drifted away. You know the feeling, don’t you?”  
“Yeah, I do.”  
“Sometimes I wonder if I will ever find the one.”  
“What are you talking about, Koushiro?”  
“I mean, I’m twenty-nine, Mimi. Taichi, Yamato and Sora are a year older than me and they’re all married and with children. I’m afraid I get too old to get married.”  
Mimi thought for a second. She was a little surprised to see the computer geek open up like that. She reached for Koushiro’s hands and took them into hers.  
“Koushiro.” She said in a reassuring tone. “I have no doubt you will find your soul mate. Sometimes you just need to stop looking for love in order to it come to you. I had the same fear you have now. But you know what? Sometimes love can be right in front of you and you don’t always see that.”  
Koushiro looked up at Mimi. The smile on her face was so sweet he couldn’t help but smile back, blushing a little as he did so.  
“Yeah, I think you’re right.”  
“Wow, I talked a lot.” She laughed. “I’m gonna get a bottle of water. Do you need anything?”  
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”  
The researcher turned around a little to see the soon to be chef walking away. He started to wonder if she was falling for him.  
  
  
“My brother became famous?” Yamato asked in a surprised tone.  
“Yeah.” Sora said as she put the pasta into the saucepan. “He just released a book that was a big hit.”  
“Really? What’s the book about?”  
“He wrote about our first adventure in the Digital World.”  
“You’re kidding me?”  
“No, I’m serious. He came to each one of us and asked if we were okay with it and we said we were. What else should we have said? None of us wanted to destroy his dreams, you know?”  
“And that book was a huge success?”  
“Yes. And I do believe it had something to do with his basketball skills.”  
Sora looked at her watch. It was time to break the huge news to him.  
“Wow, a lot has changed since I left.”  
“Yeah.” Sora looked nervously from right to left. “Yamato, there’s something I need to tell you.”  
“What is it? I guess it’s not good, from the way you look.”  
“No, it is. I’m just trying to figure out how to say it. Look, a couple of months after you left I found out I was…”  
The stylist was cut off by a baby cry coming from the living room.  
“…pregnant.”  
Yamato looked at his wife in shock.  
  
  
Taichi reached for his cellphone in his pocket. He looked at the name blinking on the screen.  
“Taichi, I think I’m in big trouble.” Koushiro said before Taichi was able to say anything.  
“What happened, Koushiro? Did a digimon appear again?”  
“No, no. I’m in big trouble – romantically.”  
“Oh.” Taichi gave a big smile. “Are you saying you’re on a date?”  
Koushiro felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment. “I guess you can say that.”  
“I knew it! Who’s the lucky girl?”  
“Is it necessary right now?”  
“Of course it is. Otherwise I won’t know how to help you.”  
“Well, it’s one of us.”  
“Us? What are you… Oh no! You are on a date with Mimi?!”  
Hikari lifted her head at her brother. Taichi stood up from the table and walked to his old bedroom.  
“Okay, we can talk more privately now.”  
“Are you saying your wife heard about my despair?”  
“Yeah. But also my parents and Hikari.”  
“Taichi!”  
“I’m sorry, Koushiro. But in my defense I didn’t know you were in trouble with something like this.”  
Taichi had to cover his mouth to stop himself from bursting into laughter.  
“I’m desperate, Taichi.”  
“Okay. What do you need my help with? I understand everything about this subject.”  
Koushiro took a while to reply. He now remembered Taichi and Mimi used to date when they were around sixteen or seventeen. Yamato and Sora were going out for about two years back then and that made Taichi and Mimi grow closer, even though she still lived in the United States. They would always hang out together, when she was in town. Sometimes he and Jyou hung out with them but it came to a point where they started feeling really uncomfortable around them. Koushiro put a hand on his forehead.  
“Koushiro, are you okay?”  
“Taichi, I can’t date her.”  
“Why the hell not? You’re single and as far as I know so is she.”  
“But you used to date her.”  
“Koushiro.” Taichi said in a surprised tone. “Mimi and I broke up like ten years ago. Of course you can date her.”  
“Aren’t you gonna be mad at me if I do?”  
“Of course not, you fool. I’m giving my blessing. Besides I’m already married.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes! Go for it, Koushiro. Do you think she likes you?”  
“I’m not sure.”  
“Well, ask her.”  
“Taichi! You know I’m not that great with telling people how I feel.”  
“Do you want me to talk to her?”  
“No!” Koushiro almost yelled. “I would call Sora but she is probably busy with the twins. And you are not exactly the best person to do such things.”  
“Hey! I pushed Sora to confess to Yamato and look what happened. I bet you and Mimi will go the same way.”  
“Well, yeah. But that doesn’t mean it will work out again. I’d like not to have my chances ruined.”  
“Alright then. Good luck with going nowhere.” Taichi playfully snapped at him.  
“Wait!” Koushiro immediately regretted it. “I need your help.”  
“What?” He pretended he didn’t hear his friend’s cry for help.  
“I need your help.”  
“Great! Here’s what you’ll have to do.”  
“You really have a big ego, Taichi.”  
“Shut up!”  
“Mimi is coming. I gotta go!”  
“Wait, Koushiro! Wait!”  
  
  
Koushiro quickly slipped his phone into his pocket as Mimi came back.  
“Who were you talking to?”  
“Oh just someone from work.”  
“Oh, alright.”  
“Mimi, I don’t know how to ask but would you be okay with dating an ex’s friend?”  
“What?  
The computer geek blushed heavily just thinking about having to explain it to Mimi.  
“You mean you have feelings for me?”  
He shyly shook his head in affirmative. “I do.”  
“That’s great, Koushiro!”  
“What?!” He raised an eyebrow at her. “How’s that great, Mimi?”  
“Because I don’t have to hide it anymore.”  
“You have feelings for me too?”  
“I have for quite a while now.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes, really.” Mimi happily said as she pulled Koushiro into her and kissed him.  
  
  
“You were pregnant?” Yamato asked. “Were you ever going to tell me?”  
“I was.” Sora followed him to the bedroom. “But you just got back and we had a lot of catching up to do.”  
“Of course, if by catching up you mean kissing.”  
“Don’t do this, Yamato.” She held him by the arm. “Let’s talk about it.”  
“We are talking.”  
“No. We are already yelling at each other. I want us to have a civilized talk, just for once.”  
“Sora, there’s no way we can talk in a civil way.” He looked straight into her eyes. “We haven’t been that way for a long time.”  
“You think I wanted this to happen? No, I didn’t! And yet you crucify me like I was the responsible for screwing this marriage.”  
She sat on the edge of the bed and put her head on her hands. She could feel Yamato’s eyes looking at her and the angry energy emerging from his body. He sighed deeply and turned to leave.  
“I can’t do this anymore.”  
“Yamato! Yamato! Come here, please!”  
Sora ran to the living room to try to stop her husband from leaving but it was in vain. He had already left. Tears formed in her eyes as she turned around and saw Aiko leaning against the door frame.  
“Are you and dad fighting already, mom?”  
The woman sighed. “I don’t know what happened, Aiko. I was about to tell him about the twins but Ayumi started crying when I began to.”  
“Mom.”  
“I know. I’m gonna find him. I just need to make a few phone calls.”  
  
  
Yamato was walking with no apparent direction. He had just gotten home and things were already off to a bad start. He started to wonder who was there with Sora when she gave birth. Taichi probably, and maybe Koushiro and Mimi. Even though he didn’t like that she kept such secret from him, he couldn’t hate her. The blond reached for his phone and flipped it open. He scanned down his phone book to a certain number and wasn’t sure whether to dial it or not. He knew he could call his brother anytime but due to recent events he wasn’t sure if Takeru would like it.  
“I have a great life.” He mumbled to himself with sarcasm.  
Yamato kept walking down the street as his mind got sucked into memories.  
  
  
_It was Christmas’ day. The Teenage Wolves were going to perform later that day. There were some people Yamato wished wouldn’t go, Jun Motomiya being one of them. Taichi, Sora, Koushiro and Jyou were going to support him, and that made him more nervous. Sure they all had seen his band perform before but this time it was slightly different. He and Sora had gotten a lot closer in the past few months and he felt differently towards her since then. He wasn’t sure if she felt the same so he decided it was better not to confess. The bassist saw the rest of his band entering the room._  
_“You are late.” He hissed at them._  
_“We’re sorry, Yamato.”_  
_Through their shoulder, Yamato could see the girl with baby blue coat and pink scarf. His heart skipped a beat and his cheeks became red. Sora’s heart was beating faster and her body was trembling uncontrollably. She gave a step back when she saw him coming towards her._  
_“Sora?”_  
_“Yeah.”_  
_“What are you doing here?”_  
_“Well I made you some cookies. You know, to give you luck. And Taichi pushed me inside.”_  
_Yamato laughed and then hugger her. They broke away and stayed only a few inches away from each other. They were about to kiss when Jun interrupted them._  
_“What are you doing here?” He asked._  
_“I swear I tried to stop her, Yamato.” Taichi said._  
_“If she can come in, why can’t I?”_  
_“Because she’s my friend and you’re not.”_  
_“There’s no need to be rude at her, Yamato.”_  
_“Get out of here, Jun.” He didn’t pay attention to Sora._  
_“Taichi, we should go as well. Koushiro and Jyou may get here any minute.”_  
_“Yeah, you’re right.”_  
_The two best friends were about to leave when Sora felt a hand on her shoulder._  
_“Sora, wait.”_  
_“I’ll go and see if I can meet Koushiro and Jyou. You two don’t get naughty before marriage.” Taichi blinked at them before leaving._  
_“Taichi!” Sora yelled._  
_Her face was as red as an apple, just like Yamato’s._  
_“I swear he won’t live any longer.” The girl cursed._  
_“Well, I want to thank you for the cookies.” Yamato changed the subject._  
_“Oh, no problem.” Sora turned to him. “It took me around three batches to get the perfect cookies.”_  
_He came closer to her once again and grabbed her hands. The tennis player felt her face burn but didn’t try to stop Yamato. He then held her face and touched her lips with his own. She quickly responded to it._  
  
  
Yamato was brought back to reality when he bumped into someone and heard a scream. He stretched his hand to the person as he apologized.  
“Yamato?” The voice coming from the person sounded shocked.


	3. Friendship

Yamato grabbed the offered hand and stood up. He then cleaned his shirt and smiled.  
“What are you doing here?”  
“Well, our mission ended so we came back.”  
“Oh. Well, welcome back.”  
“Thanks.” Yamato smiled. “Listen, do you have some free time now?”  
“Yeah, I think so.” Jyou looked at his watch. “I was going home to do something but that can wait.”  
“Oh, don’t put off what you have to do for me. I can call Taichi.”  
“It’s okay, Yamato. Friends come first.” Jyou blinked at him.  
The blonde couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks.”  
“So do you want to go somewhere else?”  
“Sure.”  
The two friends started walking down the street.  
  
Mimi pulled away from Koushiro and answered her phone.  
“Hey, Sora.”  
“Mimi, I need you.”  
“What happened? You sound worried.”  
“Well I _am_ worried. Yamato is gone.”  
“What? I didn’t know he was back.”  
“Neither did I. we had a fight and he took off.”  
“Sora.” The cook looked at Koushiro. “Okay, I’m on my way.”  
“You’re not busy, are you?”  
“No.” She lied. “I’ll be right there.”  
“Thanks, Mimi.”  
“No problem.”  
Mimi ended the call and looked at Koushiro.  
“What happened, Mimi?”  
“Sora said Yamato is gone.”  
“Gone?”  
“Yeah, they were on a fight and he left.”  
The researcher rolled his eyes. “That must be the fastest fight they get into.”  
“We need to go over, Koushiro. She needs us.”  
“But you didn’t tell her I was with you.”  
“That doesn’t matter now.” She pulled him by the hand. “Come on, let’s go.”  
The two of them rushed outside and ran to Sora’s house.  
  
“So what did exactly happen between you and Sora?”  
“What? Yamato lifted his head, completely taken by surprise.  
“I know you way too well, Yamato.” The vet calmly placed his cup of coffee on the table. “The only reason for you to be this nervous would be if you and Sora got in a fight.”  
“Well…” Yamato sighed. He hated being so readable to the other Destined. “Turns out she gave birth like three months ago and didn’t tell me about it.”  
“I’m sorry, but how long have you been back?”  
“I came back around five hours ago.”  
“Yamato.” Jyou looked intently to him. “You’ve been married to her for about ten years. Now, tell me. Do you honestly believe she wouldn’t tell you about it at all?”  
“No, I don’t. But what annoyed me is that she waited until the baby cried to tell me.”  
“But she couldn’t have told you right away. Keep in mind she didn’t know you’d be back.”  
“You have a point.”  
“I don’t think she had the chance to tell you. She wouldn’t not tell you on purpose. I would think you knew her well enough to know it.”  
“I don’t know Jyou. She’s not the same person I fell in love with.”  
“Of course not, Yamato.” Jyou fixed his glasses. “She’s not fourteen anymore. She became a woman. She became a mother. So she’s definitely not the same person.”  
“I guess you’re right.”  
“You, on the other hand, have to tell her how you feel. Stop running away. It’s not good for her and neither is it for you. You’re not a kid anymore. Running away won’t do any good now. In fact, it can ruin your marriage.”  
“What?”  
“The foundation of a relationship is communication, trust and love. Without one of these, no marriage can last.”  
“I never thought about it.”  
“Well, listen to someone older than you. You’re thirty, Yamato. It’s about time you face your problems with your head up.”  
“You’re right.”  
“Do you love her?”  
The blonde seemed to be thinking for a while. “Well, we have a family so my answer is yes.”  
“Is that how you know you love someone?”  
“If I didn’t love her, I wouldn’t have done it, don’t you think?”  
“That’s true. But nowadays lots of people have kids without loving the other person.”  
“Yeah. But how am I supposed to know if I love her?”  
“Well, you must have at some point, like when you started dating.”  
“Yeah, I felt something nice.” Yamato took a deep breath. “It was like I couldn’t stay away from her.”  
“We all experience that feeling.”  
“I want to feel it again, Jyou. I want to love her again.”  
“Then you’ll have to fight to get through her.”  
“I just don’t know how to do it.”  
“You will. You’ll know exactly what to do.”  
“Thanks for the advice, Jyou.”  
“Anytime.” Jyou smiled. “We are all hoping you two work things out, Yamato. I know for a fact there aren’t two people who are this perfect for each other as you and Sora. She’s a keeper, don’t ever let her go.”  
Yamato smiled. He’s always known how the Destined – mainly the older ones – felt about him and Sora. He couldn’t thank them enough, especially Taichi – for obvious reasons – for being so supportive. He thought he could use some of this support right now but he didn’t know how his friends would take it. He was afraid they would be angry at him for storming off on Sora like that.  
“What are you thinking?”  
“Oh.” Yamato turned his head to Jyou. “I was thinking of what the other will think when they find out about this.”  
“By others you mean Taichi?”  
Yamato smiled shyly. “He and Sora have been best friends for about twenty years now.”  
“But he can’t lecture you when he doesn’t know what is actually happening. We know what you and Sora tell us. I’m sure there are things you don’t share.”  
“Yeah, there are. But you know Taichi, he’s always meddling in everything.”  
Jyou sighed. “Some things never change. I’m sure he means well though. He’s not the type to purposely ruin something.”  
“No, he’s not.”  
The vet looked at his watch. “I’m sorry, Yamato. I really need to go now. Shun is waiting for me. He wants to discuss some stuff related to the other world, if you get me.”  
“Sure. Sure. I won’t hold you up anymore. Thanks for the advice.”  
“No problem.”  
Yamato watched his friend leave in a hurry and left himself shortly after.  
  
“Wow.” Mimi said, astonished. “I can’t believe that everything you just told us happened tonight.”  
“It did, Mimi. And I’ve been trying to reach him but his phone isn’t working.”  
“All that because he thinks you weren’t going to tell him about the twins?”  
“Yes, Koushiro. But I was going to until Ayumi cried.”  
“Does he know you had twins by the way?”  
“No. As I said, I couldn’t tell him.”  
“Sora!”  
“I’m sorry, okay? I was completely taken off guard. I couldn’t just say everything that happened while he was away tonight.”  
“I’m sure he will come around, Sora.”  
“Well, I’m not. What if he wants to get divorced?”  
“What are you talking about? Yamato is head over heels about you!”  
“But things change, Mimi. And let’s face it, this marriage isn’t what it used to be.”  
“Would you listen to yourself? Of course it isn’t! You can’t expect it to be the same way it was eight years ago. You are older, Yamato is older. You know marriages fall into a routine, Sora. You have to find a way not to let it.”  
“But how? I feel frustrated. I’m thirty. I already have four children. My husband is always away on a mission. It’s really hard to get by this way.”  
“You need to talk about it to Yamato. That’s the only way you can ease your burden.”  
“But how am I supposed to do that, Mimi? I can’t even talk to hi, he won’t listen.”  
“Maybe you need to think of another way to get through him, Sora.”  
“I’m this close to giving up.”  
Mimi and Koushiro exchanged glances. They knew things weren’t smooth between Sora and Yamato but they had no idea they were this bad.  
“Sora, I’m sure you’re overreacting here.”  
“No, Mimi, I’m not. You guys aren’t going through it like me. But our marriage reached a point where it has no salvation.”  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sora!” Mimi said in a loud tone. “Your marriage can be saved if you want it to be saved.”  
“I wish it was that simple, but it really isn’t.”  
“What about love? It has to be enough, you sure as hell know it.”  
“It was supposed to be, in theory. But not in real life. Only love can’t make a marriage work, Mimi. I don’t want to end up being to my children what Takeru’s mother was to Yamato. And I don’t want Yamato ending up like his father.”  
“What do you mean? Are you considering getting divorced?”  
“No, but if there’s no other choice there’s nothing much I can do.”  
“But you have two babies, Sora! You know pretty well what Yamato went through with his mother living in a different city since you went through it yourself, with your father. Do you really want your children not to have a bond with their father?”  
“No, I really want them to. I think Yamato deserves that right.”  
“What do you think, Koushiro?” Mimi suddenly turned to him.  
“I think I’m not good at this kind of thing. But I know for a fact I wouldn’t do such thing to my own children. It would kill me to see them so hurt.”  
Mimi smiled at him. She then grabbed his hand.  
“That’s good to know.”  
Koushiro blushed a little. Sora found it quite cute. She was about to ask them something but stopped when she noticed her two friends stood up.  
“Taichi.”  
“What are you doing here?”  
Taichi placed his hand on the door frame while he breathed deeply. He then frowned at the red haired woman.  
“I had to be told by Jyou what happened. Why haven’t you called me?”  
“I didn’t tell Jyou anything.”  
“It doesn’t matter.” He sat on the couch and folded his arms. “Spill it.”  
The stylist sighed. “Alright. Yamato is back.”  
“What?!” Taichi exclaimed. “Where’s he?”  
“That’s what we don’t know, Taichi.” Mimi said softly.  
“What do you mean you don’t know?” He looked intently to Sora. “What did you do?”  
“I didn’t do anything!” Sora said, rather furious. “He stormed off when he heard the baby cry.”  
“We should go find him then.” The brunette man stood up and headed to the front door.  
“Taichi.” Koushiro finally said. “I don’t think so.”  
“What? But Koushiro…”  
“I agree. It’s time to go.”  
“But we need to find Yamato.”  
“What we need is to step back and let Sora and Yamato deal with the situation on their own.” Mimi said. “We won’t be helping if we keep meddling in.”  
Taichi sighed. “Alright. Alright. Hikari went to get Takeru. Do you want to hang out somewhere? I can call her and tell her to meet us there.”  
“Actually, I have to go to work really early tomorrow.”  
“Me too.”  
“You guys are no fun.” Taichi protested.  
“Sorry. You know I have to work hard if I want to be a successful chef.”  
“Yeah. I guess.”  
“Good night, Sora.” Mimi hugged her. “Let me know if you have any news.”  
“I will. Good night.”  
“Come on, Koushiro.”  
Sora smiled at her happy friends. She never saw them as a couple but really thought they looked great together.  
“Taichi.” She turned to him. “I think it’s time for you to go as well.”  
“But I wanna see Yamato.”  
“You will, but not tonight. I don’t want him to see you here when he gets back. You know as well as I do that it wouldn’t be good right now, no matter how much he loves you. Besides, I need to breastfeed Ayumi and Masanori before they sleep.”  
“Alright. But you’ll have to tell me as soon as you hear from Yamato.”  
“Okay.”  
“Goodbye.”  
“Good night, Taichi.”  
  
The bearer of Love locked the front door and went to Aiko and Kouji’s room. She carefully opened the door and saw them sleeping peacefully. She then headed to the other bedroom and walked to the cribs. She gave a sweet smile at her babies before picking Masanori up. He was exactly like Yamato, except he had the same cinnamon eyes as her. Sora felt her eyes watering up a little.  
“Are you okay, Sora?” Gabumon asked her.  
“Yeah, I am.” She replied in a low tone. “Do you think Yamato will ever forgive me, Gabumon?”  
“What’s going on?” Piyomon landed next to Yamato’s partner.  
“I’ve done a lot of unforgivable things in the past.”  
“He has no reason not to forgive you. So you screwed up before but so did he. You forgave him and moved on. He’ll do the same.”  
Sora sat on the rocking chair and set herself up to breastfeed her son.  
“Sometimes I think he won’t forgive me. I love him so much.”  
“He loves you too, Sora.”  
“Yeah, I don’t know how you can’t see that.”  
“It’s just…” She sighed. “All we do lately is fight and fight. I mean, he just got back from Mars and was probably expecting a big welcome party but we fought instead.”  
“You still have time to throw him a party, Sora.”  
“Yeah. Show him how much you love him. I’m sure he will be amazed.”  
“You really think so?”  
“I know so.”  
“Okay, we’ll be throwing a welcome party tomorrow. But it has to be a surprise, alright?”  
“Alright!” Both Gabumon and Piyomon said at the same time.  
  
“Taichi!” Takeru called his friend.  
“Oh. Hey, Takeru.”  
“Weren’t we meeting at Sora’s?”  
“Yeah but she asked me to leave.”  
“Well she didn’t know we were going so I don’t blame her.”  
“Koushiro and Mimi were there though.”  
“Really?”  
“Has my brother appeared yet?” Takeru interrupted the siblings’ conversation.  
Taichi shook his head negatively. “I’m sorry, Takeru.”  
“I think I should check on my sister in law. How is she doing?”  
“She’s doing her best not to lose it. She’s been trying to reach Yamato desperately.”  
“My brother can be such a jerk sometimes.” Takeru said furiously.  
“I’m sure he meant no harm, Takeru.” Hikari tried to calm him down by squeezing his arm lightly.  
“I know my brother, Hikari.” He sighed. “The rebel side of him never really died, even after he and Sora started dating. It sucks that she has to deal with Yamato’s insensitivity sometimes.”  
“Well, Sora knew exactly where she was getting into but she didn’t care. She loved him and still does.”  
“But it still isn’t fair.”  
“I think we should wait till tomorrow to decide what to do. We should wait to know what Sora will say. Maybe we’re worrying for no reason.”  
Both Taichi and Takeru nodded. Sometimes Hikari seemed older than she actually was.  
“This whole situation made me realize how self-centered I was being lately.”  
“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Takeru.”  
“Isn’t it? I mean, my brother’s wife needed me. Sora needed me and I turned my back on her.”  
“But it’s not like you did it intentionally. You were busy with promoting your book.” Hikari said softly.  
“My book isn’t nearly as important as being there for the people I love.”  
“Well, if it helps, Sora doesn’t love you any less because of that. I’m sure she understands you can’t always be there for her.”  
“I think so. I’ve been neglecting my own nephews and nieces.”  
“They’ll forgive you, Takeru. You’ll have plenty of time to make it up to them.”  
“Yeah. I know.” He smiled. “Thanks, Hikari.”  
“You’re more than welcome.”  
“Do you want me to drive you home, Hikari?”  
“Sure, Taichi. See you later, Takeru.”  
The teacher gave him a kiss on the cheek. The writer blushed a little. Taichi couldn’t help but smile. He thought to himself that some things never really changed. Too bad Hikari tried to avoid this possibility as much as she could. Takeru would have been a great husband to her. Not that Taichi would be happy about it – the usual older brother sense of protection, you know? – but if his sister were to ever get married, Takeru would be his choice. He didn’t really like the doctor who was never around anyway. Now that he thought about it, his nephew did looked like Takeru… _a lot_.  
  
Yamato unlocked the front door and carefully walked into his apartment. He took a look at the clock. It was nearly 3 am. He wasn’t sure how he managed to stay out until this time. The whole apartment was in silence but the lights were on. The astronaut made his way to his children bedroom. The door was slightly open. Yamato slowly walked in and gave each of them a goodnight kiss. Kouji moved a little but didn’t wake up, to the blonde’s relief. He then left the bedroom and headed to his one. His heart started racing as he saw the woman figure lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. The shine of the moon was reflecting on her face and it made her look even more beautiful, if that was possible. Yamato carefully climbed onto the bed and lay next to her. He inhaled her scent, sending chills down his spine. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he snuggled closer to her. A warm feeling filled his heart. He knew it way too well. It was the feeling of belonging somewhere, being close to the one you love the most.


End file.
